Doublethink and doublespeak are a means of indoctrination in which people are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth. Orwell created the words in the most famous dystopian novel, “1984,” but we saw them on full display Tuesday night. The most egregious example was the horrific use of a child with cancer as a prop while at the …
It was hard not to be filled with despair Monday. Between watching the obviously orchestrated cut off of funds to Ukraine, the grift occurring with cryptocurrency at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer, the cessation of investigation of money laundering, the announcement that the Defense Department had halted offensive cyber operations against Russia and the instatement of tariffs against our …
I remember the seismic shift that happened in a week five years ago when the pandemic began. Our world completely transformed in a matter of days. A similar seismic shift has occurred in the past week, with the shift in world order. The U.S. has gone from being on the side of democracy, standing up for the values that led …
One thing many Americans may not be aware of is how the recent transition in the U.S. is playing abroad. I think it is safe to say that any nation or leader who supports democratic values is horrified and in shock. The administration has aligned with Russia and the murderous Vladimir Putin, as well as the heirs of the Nazi …
It’s been a tough week. It’s been hard to watch the dismantling of democracy, the corruption unfolding or being ignored as guardrails are dismantled and justice denied. The graft and lies, the rejection of science and endangerment of our health and the loss of national security as we alienate allies, side with bullies, advocate ethnic cleansing and confirm incompetence, ignoring …
I often joke that I am the healthiest unhealthy person I know. I have many chronic conditions, including diabetes, asthma and glaucoma. But thanks to research done by the National Institutes of Health, I have medications that, at 61, have me at the healthiest I’ve been in years. If you don’t think the cuts to NIH impact you and you …
I keep wondering if I am living some type of dystopian nightmare, and then I look at the news and see that this administration is prioritizing the refugee resettlement of WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS, and I know in fact it is not a nightmare but a waking brutal reality of white supremacy and Christian Nationalism. As someone who cut her teeth …
In 1988, I had the incredible opportunity to travel around the world. I studied in Zimbabwe, built houses in Malawi, worked at a leprosy hospital in India and became embedded with anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, even smuggling documents for the ANC back to Zimbabwe. As I think back to that time now, as the U.S. is being turned upside …
I don’t want to get out of bed this morning. I wanna pull the covers over my head and pretend like this dystopian nightmare does not exist. I don’t want to hear the latest news that tears down yet another brick as democracy collapses around me. But that isn’t an option. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of …
On Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday evening, Vice President JD Vance described what he called an “old-school, very Christian concept.” “You love your family, then you love your neighbor, then you love your community, then you love you fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. …
On Tuesday, at a prayer service for the Inauguration of Donald Trump, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde preached the sermon of her life, directly pleading for the president to show mercy to those who are being impacted by this administration’s policies. She did so respectfully, thoughtfully and lovingly. And biblically. She spoke truth to power. As a pastor, I was deeply …
I’ve been thinking about whether to stay on Facebook, and I’ve decided at least for now to stay. The simple truth is that the concept of Facebook began as a way to rate women at Harvard, which is despicable. So the recent decision by Mark Zuckerberg further solidifies the lack of character he has. However, for me, it has become …
It’s Jan. 7. The results of a free and fair election were confirmed Monday in a peaceful transfer of power . Although the election did not go as I had hoped, this is what democracy looks like. Not violent insurrection. So what now? Stacey Abrams recently said that we shouldn’t focus now on resistance but insistence, and I like that …
Jimmy Carter was my hero — a man who embodied what it means to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Much has been said of his post-presidency, where he spoke out for the Palestinian people, waged war on the Guinea Worm, advocated for free and fair elections and transformed the world of affordable housing with dignity and …
If you want to understand the difference between Christian nationalism and being a Christ follower look no further than the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. This man who spouts off about “Christian values” spent Wednesday trying to silence a damning ethics report of a man whose vile publicly admitted actions make him unqualified to be attorney general, in order …
I recently started following an Instagram site called “Letters of Note.” The site creator shares historical letters that are both amusing and inspiring as well as grounding. Recently, he posted a portion of a letter from John Ruskin, an English author and critic, written on Nov. 4, 1860, during a period of social reform and upheaval in England. In his letter …
We are volunteers with an organization called Faiths United to Save Democracy, which is doing its work in conjunction with Sojourners. It is a nonpartisan effort to serve shifts outside of polling sites to offer support and protection to voters, making sure every vote is counted. We are trained, nonpartisan, multifaith, multicultural, multigenerational volunteers — clergy and lay — who …
If you have any question about what the future of America will be like in a second Donald Trump term, please look carefully at what transpired Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. The racism, the xenophobia, the misogyny, the hatred, the anger, the division. This is where the road leads. Up until eight years ago, I would have described myself …
If you remain undecided about who you are voting for in this election, please consider that Adolf Hitler became chancellor because of a democratic election. The Nazi Party used hatred toward the “other” and demonization of those who were “poisoning the blood of our country” to scapegoat the marginalized and convince good people to vote for them because they believed …
I know a lot of people are laughing about the sheer insanity of the comment about eating pets — and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit to being very amused by some memes. But there is a deep and nefarious part of that racist trope that we can’t laugh off. It implies that immigrants, especially ones from Haiti …
There was never a universe in which I thought that Dick Cheney and I would be actively supporting the same person for president, but here we are. As much as I disagree with him about almost every issue, I am extremely impressed with his commitment to our country over party and policy. His sense of patriotism is commendable as he …
I’ve been thinking about my blog about Gus Walz and I need to clarify. Showing emotion is good and a sign of true strength for any human being. Mocking someone who cries says more about the one who mocks than it does about the one crying. The number of times I’ve had people apologize for crying while they were in …
One of the subtle things I really appreciated about the Democratic National Convention was the honest portrayal of the family of Kamala Harris. Her husband’s ex-wife produced the video about Doug Emhoff and she was there at the convention every night with her kids. She and Harris are good friends. As someone who was part of a blended family, I …
People making fun of Gus Walz, the son of Tim Walz, the choice of Kamala Harris to be her running mate, illustrates the problem with MAGA. The Republican Party, especially in Minnesota in the last part of the 20th century, were champions of mental health. I truly can’t imagine any human being with even an iota of decency making fun …
It started innocently enough Oct. 24, 2021. Prior to that date, I sporadically did the New York Times puzzle, but I hadn’t been focused on completing it the same day. In fact, according to my archives, I had only earned the proverbial “gold star” for completing it without help on the same day four times the week before Oct. 24 …
When I was in junior high, I became friends with a group of girls that we referred to as “the gang,” in an era when that word had a different meaning in rural Minnesota. In our graduating class of over 300, we were among the “good” girls. Our idea of a “pot party” was washing the cookware after a camping …
Bad theology is scary and hurtful. We live in a world where evil happens and there are consequences for sin. However, we do not have a God who “miraculously” saves one person and instead sacrifices another. Our God is a God on the cross who is present when a classroom of children are slaughtered and when assassins aim at the …
“A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” This quote from the Declaration of Independence is on my heart 248 years after it was penned. My prayer for my nation is that a year from now we have a president who is not …
I was reflecting on the convictions of Donald Trump and Hunter Biden. A lot could be said about the fact that false equivalencies being made between the felony conviction of a former president and the son of a president or the circumstances of the convictions. But what strikes me the most is not the convictions of two men found guilty …
This is the final blog in a series of posts regarding my personal experience of the abuse of power that can result from one person having hierarchical control of the career of a rostered minister. In previous blogs, I shared my experience with a clinical pastoral experience supervisor that forced me to process my rape soon after it happened and …
This is the third blog in a series highlighting my experiences with unchecked hierarchical power over my 34 years of ordained ministry. My hope in sharing my experience is to create a safe space for others to share their stories. In my first post, I shared how I was raped near the end of my CPE semester and forced by my …
This is the second in a series of three blogs highlighting Paula Mehmel’s experience of clergy abuse by hierarchical structures. Although I had served my congregation faithfully for 20 years, as one of my very wise council members told me, “If you piss off 3 percent of the people a year, you are doing well. But if you stay for …
This is the first in a series of four blogs highlighting Paula Mehmel’s experience of clergy abuse by hierarchical structures. In recent years, there have been a lot of blogs and articles about why so many pastors and other rostered leaders are leaving the ministry. As an ordained ELCA pastor for 34 years and the current pastor of a UCC …
I’ve seen a lot on social media about the Neanderthal views of the Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. I believe in his right to have and express his opinion, although I truly feel sorry for the Benedictine nuns who support the institution at which he made his remarks. Butker’s comments indicate the nuns’ choice to follow service to Lord …
Our last day in Morocco began very early, before sunrise. We got up and walked out into the sand dunes and watched the magic as the sun peaked over the sand. I think the part that is the most indescribable is the different shades of color of sand. And how intensely and incredibly beautifully it reflects as the the rays …
As an avid traveler, I’m not sure I have a “bucket list” per se because travel for me is about life not death. But I definitely have a list of travel dreams. To accomplish one in a few years is incredible. But to accomplish two in less than four months seems unfathomable. However, a mere months after reaching my seventh …
And now for something completely different. I am not a birdwatcher. I feed the birds on my deck and I recognize a few of them, like the cardinal and the finch. But mostly if I see a bird that’s pretty, I point at it and say, “Oh. There’s a pretty bird.” But it has to be fairly obvious because my …
A few people have asked about how I put this trip together and how it was organized, and I thought that this would be a good post to explain that as the past day has been about travel coordination. When Gretchen and I decided to go, we talked about the places we wanted to visit, knowing we would want to …
Today was a deep dive into Morocco, its history and culture, as we took a walking tour of the old city portion of Fes. Today Fes has a modern city and the medieval Medina, which together have 1.5 million people. Fes was founded in 789 by Iraqis who sought to bring Islam to Morocco. Prior to that time, the country …
The key to successful travel experiences, in my opinion, is pace. You can’t go, go, go all the time and really appreciate all that a country has to offer. At least I can’t. So some days you need to deliberately slow down to experience a country and not just see it. That’s what today was all about. We had a …
Serendipity: “The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.” Serendipity — what we experienced this evening in Tangier. Last night, during dinner, we had the most delightful waiter, Reda, a high school senior. During the course of our conversation over the meal, he extended an invitation to us to join him and some of …
Normally when I get up in the morning, I do not plan my wardrobe to coordinate with the city to which I am traveling. However, this wasn’t a normal day and Chefchauoen is not a normal city. We set out with our driver from the previous day and drove two hours up to the mountains to this famous blue city. …
I often tell people that I have adopted Rick Steves approach to travel, which focuses on being a backdoor traveler. Today I took that to a whole new level. We spent the first part of the day touring Morocco with a driver arranged through our lodging. Our driver, Mohammed, spoken no English. However, we were able to communicate through Martha’s …
What started with a loose screw ended with a magical encounter with a painting that has long been one of my favorite works of art. So goes the serendipity of travel as I embark on another segment of “Travels with Paula—Moroccan (and unexpectedly Madrid) edition.” (Time to silence my posts if you don’t like my travelogues.) After getting up at …